Abigail's Labor Story

Sadly this post has been a long time coming. I had to wait until life calmed down enough to take a few minutes to blog. This last week has been one of the most crazy/stressful weeks of my life!

With Abigail's labor, I was taken completely by surprise. I had been to the doctor Monday morning (the 13th) and the doctor said I was only dilated to a "2ish" and he thought that my body wouldn't go into labor on its own. So we scheduled an induction for that Thursday. I went home making plans for Thursday. Then at 4:45 I was washing dishes talking to my mom and felt a punch in the groin (for lack of a better explanation). I told my mom it was weird and decided to sit down for a minute to see what it was. Then every 5 minutes after that I would have the same intense pain way down low. It was nothing like the contractions I experienced with Kate. I kept telling my mom I didn't know if it was actually contractions. But I called Jon and our babysitter Susan anyway to tell them I might be having contractions and be on standby. Not even 15 minutes later I called them both back in such pain I had no doubt I was in full on labor. Jon rushed home and packed up Kate's stuff (I couldn't walk at this point) and we dropped Kate off and headed to the hospital. On our drive I started having pains so bad I didn't know if I could stand it. I told Jon that I was going to cave and get an epidural as soon as we got there! While driving I started to panic--it was so scary to be in that much pain that quickly! I was not handling it well! Every contraction I would yell at Jon to say a prayer. For whatever reason that was the only thing that was bringing me any comfort. Jon must have said 20 plus prayers! So, we get close to the hospital (contractions 3 min apart by then) and I start directing Jon on where to go. He gently suggests we go to the emergency room. I insist I know right where to go and direct him to the outpatient building where I go for my doctor visits. Epic fail. We are walking around that parking garage when I realize I'm totally stupid and in the wrong place. Several nurses leaving work stopped to help me walk back to the car and directed Jon to the ER. Moments later at the ER we park and walk inside. The time now is 6:00. There was a line at the reception desk, and Jon gently asked if we could cut. When the reception nurse looked up and saw me she rushed me to a wheelchair and sent me upstairs as fast as possible. I was starting to feel relieved because I knew drugs were getting closer to my reach! The first nurse at the labor floor had me get on the scale and get my weight. I had to grab onto Jon just to stand upright. THEN they sent me to the bathroom to give a urine sample and change into a gown. I was upset by that point--really who cares about my pee, can't you see I'm about to die here?! So i dropped my clothes to the floor, threw on the gown, peed standing up cause I couldn't move, walked out of the room and told Jon to get my stuff because I couldn't bend. The nurse then said--"Whenever you are ready to get into the bed I will check you." I was about to get an attitude with her! Whenever I'm ready?! I was having a hard time moving on my own let alone crawling into a bed! I gracefully fell into the bed and got myself semi adjusted so she could check me. She takes one look at me, looks shocked and orders me to roll onto my side and calm down. I was a 9 and ready to push. (thanks for making me do all the unnecessary crap lady! I tried to tell you but you didn't believe me!) They paged the doctors and wheeled me to my delivery room. I asked along the way if I could get any pain relief, to which I was told it was too late. I seriously came unhinged then. I just kept saying over and over "I can't do this, I can't do this. I need drugs. etc" It all happened so fast! While waiting for the doctors I was still on my side convulsing from contractions, and the nurses tell me to stick out both of my arms. They were putting in an IV in one arm and drawing blood from the other. REALLY?! I'm in so much pain at this point I can't hold still and we are worried about that? Oh well. So finally one nurse told me I could move my arm again--and I did, but apparently it was the wrong arm and made the nurse get blood all over. I could have cared less! Then the on call doctor arrived a few seconds later and started to break my water so I could deliver. As he did so, my doctor came rushing in. Then it was time to push. Talk about the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I was so scared I started hyperventilating. The doctor reminded me to calm down and breathe, that the less oxygen I got the less the baby got. To which I replied (not so nicely) "Can I get some oxygen at least then!?". They gave me a mask and I felt slightly empowered. For some reason that mask gave me the mental capacity to finish the job. It felt like my lifeline.I may or may not have held it as tightly to my face as possible for the rest of my labor.  So pushing commenced. The doctor tells me to push, and I do while screaming out in pain. He then gives me a lecture about how I didn't do that right at all. I needed to push like I was having a bowel movement by holding my breath and bearing down. I laughed and told him I must not poop right because I've never held my breath to poo! Next contraction I push with my new pushing knowledge, and the doctor says I did better, just not perfect. He tells me to push till I feel the pain and then bear down and push into the pain. Next contraction I give it another go, and he tells me I did a good job, and with one more good push this baby could be born! That promise gave me what I needed.I thought of my sweet Kate, who for weeks has been telling me to push Abby out of my tummy. I started chanting "push her out" under my breath. I pushed like there was no tomorrow and thankfully that sweet baby came, cause I don't think I had much more in me! But the pain wasn't near over, they left the baby head out to suction the mouth. I kept saying, just pull her out...let me push her out, to which I was told no. Wow that part killed. Finally they got her the rest of the way out. I felt relief for the first time. Abigail was born at 7:01. Talk about a short labor!!!! The only way I survived that was the shortness of the experience. I was definitely not one of those natural childbirth moms who was graceful and determined. I was panicked and negative and crazy! One more painful part to the labor was getting the placenta out. Sadly the umbilical cord was weakened during delivery so the doctor had to use his hand (yea talk about almost passing out) to scoop the rest of the gunk out of me. I never want to feel that again.

 Abigail Claire was born at 7:01pm August 13th weighing 8lbs 11oz, 20.5in long.

 I guess the positive side to the entire experience was the torture only lasted 2 hours. And I had a beautiful healthy baby. I also noticed that only a few hours after delivery I was feeling so much stronger than I had after Kate's delivery. I was up and showering and going to the bathroom that evening. I never want to go into labor again because of this experience, but our sweet girl was worth it in the end.

Kate and Abigail meet for the first time. Kate was nervous in the hospital. She was especially worried about my owies. So I let her take the bandaids off my arms and she then felt better. She was climbing in the bed to sit with me and such.

Abigail was released from the hospital on Wednesday. She is all dressed for the steamy hot August weather. She is such a sweet baby! We have already been so blessed to have her a part of our little family.

Stay tuned tomorrow--hopefully I will have time to write about the aftermath of Abigail. The labor story pales in comparison to the drama that I have yet to divulge.